MV Agusta Will Debut Two More Motorcycles in 2014

MV Agusta had only a single new model to show at the 2013 EICMA show, its new sport-touring machine, the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800. An important brand extension for the Italian company, CEO Giovanni Castiglioni admitted that MV Agusta scrapped its original design for the Turismo Veloce, simply stating that the produce design didn’t have the same “wow effect” that the MV Agusta motorcycle should evoke. Developing the current iteration of the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce in just eight-months time, time will tell on whether the Turismo Veloce has been rushed to market or not.

MV Agusta has cleverly spun its recent history of releasing half-baked motorcycles to market (the press debut of the MV Agusta F3 675 and its horrible fuel-mapping are still fresh in our memory), by saying the company has adopted a strategy where its machines are in “constant upgrade” from the MV Agusta’s legion of engineers. There is an interesting story there about the sophistication of electronics now, though we would just prefer the bikes work properly in version 1.0, not 1.1.

Now raising its own bar on sophistication, the Castiglioni says that the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 is the most advanced model ever to come from Varese. Time will soon tell how the sport-tourer rides (we hear it was a non-runner in the company’s promotional video), but as for the future of the Italian company, it is still full-speed ahead on other projects, which brings us to where we are today.

Some news that seemingly got lost with all the other announcements at EICMA, Giovanni Castiglioni shared at the Milan show that his road map for the future of MV Agusta includes two more yet unannounced new models, in two new market segments, which will debut in the first-part of 2014.

Our expectation is that MV Agusta will build off its Turismo Veloce sport-touring platform, and extend that line to include an adventure-touring model as well. We also expect that MV Agusta will release a power cruiser model, similar in vein to the Ducati Diavel — a bike that has already been hinted to by the company’s trademark filings.

The push into new model segments is not too dissimilar to another Italian company’s transition from a sport bike brand to full-range motorcycle brand, as MV Agusta’s plan reads exactly like Ducati’s playbook from several years ago, which is itself an adaptation of the strategy run by a certain German car manufacturer.

In outlining his plan, Castiglioni quoted the transition made by Porsche, as the German carmaker moved from a company that only made sports cars, to one that had a full-range of performance vehicles — Ducati made the same comparison during its own effort. The plan is sound in principle, and one with a proven track record of success.

In its effort, MV Agusta can draw upon reusing its 800cc three-cylinder power plant, as well as its 1,000cc four-cylinder engine for these new models. With the Italian company investing much of its future in its three-cylinder program, middleweight offerings would seem to be the more logical offering from the two possibilities, though anything is possible.

A pair of middleweight bikes could be an interesting approach, as while larger displacement machines have better margins, the premium-level middleweight motorcycle segments are relative untapped by brands like Ducati and KTM — an opportunity does exist here.

The trick here for MV Agusta isn’t the strategy though, it will be the implementation. Castiglioni and his crew have a tight time-table to deliver results and build volume, a pressure neither Ducati nor Porsche faced in their efforts. Distribution also remains a huge factor for MV Agusta, as the Italian company had poor dealer networks outside of Italy. Quality is of course an issue as well, as company’s in-house electronics package, MVICS, shows equal helpings of promise and growing pains.

As always time will tell, though in the case of MV Agusta, we won’t have long to wait for these new machines to break cover. Good stuff.

Despite his best efforts, Jensen is called one of the most influential bloggers in the motorcycle industry, and sometimes consults for motorcycle companies, whether they've solicited his expertise or not.